Knee pad



Dec. 16, 1930.

J. E. SHOTWELL j KNEE PAD Filed Aug.

lNVENTOR c]. E. Sb 0 well BY Q , ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 16, 1930 r.

UNITED STATES JOSEPHEMSLEY snorwnm. or GHOWCHILLA, CALIFORNIA.

KNEE PAD" Application filed August 12, 1930. Serial N ,.474,74o.

This invention relates to knee protecting pads for agricultural andsimilar workers, and is particularly intended for the use of pickers ofcotton and similar crops which are harvested by hand and whichnecessitate considerable kneeling on the part of the workers. The kneebeing more or less continuously in contact with the hard or brokenground soon becomes fatigued and chafed, as is well known to thoseexperienced in this work, and the ordinary form of knee pad, whilepreventing the wearing out of the trousers, does not materially protectthe knee itself against the fatiguing efi'ect.

The principal object of my invention is to avoid the aboveobjectionablecfeatures, and to increase the comfort and physical wellbeing of such workers by providing a knee protecting pad so constructedthat a spring mounted or suspended cushion is provided between the kneeand the ground.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensivedevice and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purposefor which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relativearrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the followingspecification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of ref erence indicate correspondingparts in the several views:

Fig. 1 is a fanciful perspective view of a cotton picker showing one ofmy improved knee pads in position on his knee.

Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of the pad cletached.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of on a line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional View on'a line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on thedrawings, the device comprises a primary shoe which is preferably ofrigid sheet steel and consists of a fiat bottom or base 1 of rectangularform having upstanding side plates 2 and a front plate 3. Fittingloosely between the side and front plates of the primary shoe is asecondary shoe of substantially the same form the pad and comprising abottom plate 4, side plates 5, and a front plate 6. This secondary shoeis adapted to have vertical movement relative to the primary shoe and,within the same. It

is however normally held quiescent relative to the primary shoe by meansof a'plurality of coiled. springs 19 interposed between the two plates 1and 4.

The sides 2 near the rear end thereof are provided with vertical slots7, While on the sides 5 adjacent the slots 7 are studs 8 which projectthrough the slots and are movable therein and normally engage the upperends of the slots under the pressure of the springs 19. The front plate3 is provided with a centrally located vertical slot 9, while a stud 10is secured on the front plate 6 and projects into said slot-and normallyengages the up per end of said slot under pressureof the springs 19. 1

The studs 8 havesecuring bolts 8a to hold the parts together, but thestud 101projects freely into its slot 9 without a securing nut, allfor apurpose as will presently appear.

A fabric knee pad container and protector l1 fits into the secondaryshoe and holds a knee pad 12 of horse hair or any other soft fibrousmaterial.

On the plate. 6 and centrally thereof is a strap guide 13 through whichis movable the fasteningstrap 14:. Separator straps 15 are .alsosecured. on the secondary shoe at each front corner thereofjand encirclethe fastening strap 1 1 in order to hold it spaced at the forward partof the pad so as to prevent pinching or binding of the strap 14 on thewearer; Abackstrap 16 is secured to the rear end of the secondary shoe,both the straps .14 and 16 having in conjunction therewith buckles l7and 18 to allow the knee pad to be properly secured to the knee of thewearer, as will be obvious. When the pad is strapped on the knee of thewearer, as shown in Fig 1, and the pressure of the body is put thereonthe secondary shoe tends to pivot on the studs 8 so that the forward endthereof may move downwardly in an are under the weight of the wearer.The fact that the stud 10 pro j ects freely into the slot 9 allows ofthis pivoting and arcing movement downwardly with i the studs 8 actingas pivots. At the same time if the pressure was released from theforward end of the secondary shoe and applied evenly over the secondaryshoe as a whole the knee pad could move downwardly in a direct verticalline against the pressure of all the springs. By reason of thisparticular construction therefore the pad can readily adjust itself topressure from all directions, and under different weights, and. underthe different configurations of the knee of the wearer, and give theproper resiliency to effect the objects of the invention.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I haveproduced such a device as will substantially fulfill the objects of theinvention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferredconstruction of the device, still in practice such deviations from suchdetail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit ofthe invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A knee pad comprising a primary shoe, and a secondary shoe movablewithin the primary shoe and normally held quiescent by a plurality ofyieldable elements interposed be tween the bottoms of the two shoes,pivots on the secondary shoe connected with the primary shoe near therear end thereof, the front plate of the primary shoe having a verticalslot and a stud on the front end of the secondary shoe projecting intoand being movable vertically within the slot.

2. A knee pad comprising a primary shoe consisting of a bottom plate,side plates, and a frontplate, the side plates being provided withvertical slots near their lower ends and the front plate being providedwith a centrally located vertical slot, the secondary shoe comprisingstuds near its rear end projecting into and movable vertically in therear slots of the primary shoe, and a stud secured to the front end ofthe secondary shoe and projecting to and movable freely within the slotof the front plate of the primary shoe, and yieldable means interposedbetween the bottoms of the primary and secondary shoes.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH EMSLEY SHOTWELL.

